Athens

I thought I couldn’t go to Greece and not visit Athens. My main interest was in seeing Crete, so this was just a quick hop to see the Parthenon. You can take the ferry back and forth from Heraklion, and even travel by night, so it is quite convenient.

In Athens, beyond the new museum and the Parthenon, I enjoyed people watching from a café on the way up to the Parthenon. The world seems to slow down when you are sipping coffee on ice, for some reason. I sat down with a magazine to hand and just let time pass whilst my attention idled between the magazine and strangers strolling up the hill.

The visit to the Parthenon would not be meaningful at all without a guide. In my experience, you need an expert’s briefing to make sense of the torn down monuments. The signage is not very informative on its own, and it takes much background information to fully appreciate the site. If you are visiting, do think of booking a guided visit. Ask Karma Travel for advise about guided tours and to book your travel to Athens if you’re interested in hopping to the continent.